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| The money shot as they say in the film industry. |
It was cold out there in the wilds of Bisley Camp, and I was really grateful that I dressed appropriately with two fleeces on to keep me warm. The day was a present from my partner so that I could write about shooting in the novel I'm writing, and it certainly gave me some insights into my cousin Ewan's comments about not festooning rifles with scopes.
As I understand it, a scope is lovely if you have time to line up your shot, but if you're not a sniper it mostly gets in the way.
ReplyDeleteOf course engagement ranges have been falling for the last fifty years and the emphasis on MOUT/FIBUA/FISH just pushes that further - which makes a scope for the normal squaddie even less useful.
And then you get things like the SABRE/OICW which in theory could have reversed the hardware trend, if it had actually worked reliably.
When the US military recently did a round of parachute procurement, they had to take into account that the maximum all-up combat weight of a soldier has gone up by about 10-20kg since the 1960s - some of that's that they now take bigger people, but most of it's kit. For several years before that they'd been seeing a steady rise in landing injuries.
The ACOG, and for that matter my Eotech, are both collimator sights, rather than being scopes that magnify the image. Hence why I imagine I did much better with the ACOG than with the telescopic sights, as it was closest to what I use to using.
DeleteAn aim point such as a red dot may be more practical for distances up to 100 yards. Aim points allow for decent accuracy and faster target acquisition than scopes. For myself, I prefer open iron sights or a peep sight on my rifles. Once you start hanging gear off of every possible mount point on the rifle you appear more of a mall ninja than having something truly practical.
ReplyDeleteWell for airsoft milsim games I found a tac-torch was essential for night operations, and my Eotech holosight was the best thing since sliced bread.
DeleteWhat is a peep sight?
AIUI peep sights are the same thing as aperture sights, i.e. there's no lens but there is at least one ring of some sort (replacing the rear post, or replacing both).
DeleteI totally dig it! really enjoyed reading the full gun geek post. :-)
ReplyDelete